Former Blackpool striker retires from professional football

Former Blackpool and Southampton striker Brett Ormerod has announced his retirement from professional football, after a career spanning two decades.

The 39-year-old had been playing for non-league Bamber Bridge this season, scoring 12 goals in 25 games after making over 500 appearances in the Football League for numerous clubs.

However, he has now decided that the time has come to hang up his boots after struggling to shake off a calf strain which has seen him sidelined in recent weeks.

He told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “It was a tough decision, but I think it’s the right time. I had a calf injury and have been waking up after games feeling like someone has beaten me up.

“With all the pitches being heavy after the bad weather we’ve had I decided to call it a day. In my head I’m still a 21-year-old striker and want to run around like one, but in reality I was more like the Tin Man from Wizard of Oz. It’s the right decision.”

Ormerod is probably best known for his time at Blackpool, for whom he scored 81 goals in 248 games across two spells, scoring in the Premier League and all three divisions of the Football League, as well as scoring the winning goal in the 2010 Championship play-off final.

He also enjoyed successful spells for Southampton and Preston North End during his career.

Do you have a favourite memory of Ormerod playing for your club? Let us know in the comments section below!

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